Sun Trap at High Beech

Sun Trap at High Beech Suntrap was built in 1894 on the site of the former Fairmead House that was a “lunatic asylum” Children’s Sanatorium It was originally a convalescent home for children and had many patients from east London who were suffering from what was called ‘consumption’. This was a widespread common respiratory disease called tuberculosis (TB) As there were no antibiotics at that time, the only way to treat TB was with fresh air, rest and a good diet. Many of the children spent their days in their beds which had been wheeled outdoors or were put into summer houses which had huge windows. Above Suntrap as a Sanatorium Born At Suntrap In WWII At some point during the Second World War the hospital’s patients changed from children to expectant mothers as Suntrap became an annex of Plaistow Maternity Hospital. Mothers were sent from East London to Suntrap to have their babies “in peace”. In July 1944, there was one of the heaviest “doodlebug” raids on London and the Nursery was on fire and nurses “dashed about getting babies out of the nursery. A Home For Families Following the war in the 1950s the building was roughly converted into five flats to house families in need. Pioneers In Childhood Environmental Education Frederick James Speakman Was born in 1906 and he was the son of a Council employed Assistant Teacher. The family lived in Oatland Rise, Higham Hill and he became a teacher at Woodside School in Wood Street. From an early age he was fascinated by Epping Forest and became a naturalist and a well known popular writer of illustrated guides to Epping Forest and he was one of Britain's best known naturalist-authors in the 1960s. Above: Fred Speakman teaching children Right: The Jubilee Retreat. Epping Forest had a Number of Retreats. These were built to cater for the huge numbers of East Londoners who, on Public Holidays would go en masse to the Forest by charabancs and on the train. The Retreats provided food and entertainment and the picture of the Jubilee Retreat is typical of the bigger Retreats. In the 1950’s, with the support of Walthamstow’s Education Office, he stated to convert an old cow shed at Jubilee Retreat in the Chingford part of Epping Forest into a classroom. This was so that he could take 20 pupils at a time for educational trips into the forest. In 1959, again with the help of Walthamstow’ Education Office, he acquired Roseville, a now ‘listed’ property at High Beech, and converted this to a nature study centre that he ran between 1959-79. By 1961, another teacher was employed to work from Jubilee retreat, and this then allowed a whole class to visit the forest. The first was Ernie Douse (a rural studies teacher) but by 1962 Ernie was replaced by Ken Hoy. Ken Hoy He grew up in Woodford in a house with a garden backing on to Epping Forest. He has a lifetime interest in the forest and in 1968 was one of the founders and the first Chairman of the Friends Of Epping Forest (FOEF) He worked for many years at Suntrap educating children about the forest and he is fondly remembered by many of his ex students. He is the author of several books about the forest and remained as Chairman of FOEF for 40 years until he retired in 2009. The following year he was made a ‘Freeman’ of the City of London (Who administer the forest on behalf of the people of London) for his work Left: Ken Hoy with Suntrap students. Boroughs Merge To Form Waltham Forest Following the re-organisation of London boroughs in 1965, demand for field trips to the forest was growing as schools in Chingford and Leytonstone wanted the same opportunity for their classes. During 1966 it was proposed that Waltham Forest Education Committee in conjunction with the Field Studies Council and with the full support of Epping Forest Superintendent, Alfred Qvist should use a “purpose built” new field centre on the Jubilee Retreat site provided by the City of London and plans were drawn up The Suntrap Field Studies Centre In late 1966, the Borough of Walthamstow was offered a gift of the old Suntrap Hospital. In June 1967 the London Borough of Walthamstow bought Suntrap and seven acres of land for the princely sum of £500. and converted into an education centre providing opportunities for environmental education and adventurous activities for primary schools. Ken Hoy became the first Head of Centre and all field study visits from Waltham Forest were now based at the Suntrap site. Following building work to convert the old hospital the first children visited in late October 1967. The Borough of Walthamstow had became a pioneer in childhood environmental education, sending primary school children, who often lived in working class urban areas, on fortnightly visits to Nature Field Centres in Epping Forest and sending all final year primary classes in the Borough to make eight visits a year to the Centre The number of staff was gradually increased, so that by the 1970s and through the 1980s, all children in Waltham Forest made 8 visits to the centre during their final year in primary school In 1970, the was a national furore about Fred Speakman and Suntrap when it was claimed that he was breeding the UK’s only poisonous snake – the Adder also called a Viper – and he was letting them loose back into the forest. The truth was that Fred rescued sick or hurt animals and, after he had nursed them back to health, restored them to their natural habitat. An unrepentant Fred pointed out that this was a native species and that there wasn’t any known case of anybody in the UK ever having died from the bite of the snake. After retiring he went on to live in Barbados with his second wife Kit and died there in 1982. There is a super 1968 Pathe clip that shows Fred and children from Henry Maynard Primary School at Suntrap. I have also found some contemporary pictures of the school at Suntrap.You can view it at: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/epping-forest-aka-nature-class-in-epping-forest/query/geese By 1973 all primary pupils in Waltham Forest made 8 day visits to the centre as part of their curriculum entitlement, giving them an opportunity to experience the forest in every season. From 1969 schools were given the option of a camping experience during the summer term. During this time, the London Borough of Waltham Forest funded the Suntrap budget centrally. The Centre is still owned by Waltham Forest but is now run as a traded service, charging schools directly to ensure it is self- sustaining. The programme at the centre includes structured courses and activities from Foundation Stage to A level as well as adventurous activities. Since 2007, a successful, extended activities scheme is run in the summer holidays to inspire and motivate 8-12 year olds who are referred by their school. Facilities At The Centre The Centre’s seven acres of field and garden are managed as mini-habitats with six outdoor classrooms areas. There are a number of ponds (including one fully accessible to wheel chair users) from which freshwater studies can be made. There are mature trees and ancient hedgerows, a wild flower meadow, a small sensory and butterfly garden, containers with a variety of specialised plants, bat and bird boxes (including one with a camera inside) and a weather station. The garden is also home to a small flock of chickens as well as rabbits and guinea pigs. Above: Children pond-dipping at a raised pond Team Challenges There are a number of team challenges in the grounds including a low ropes course, a giant spiders web as well as a number of problem solving games. The centre has an all terrain wheelchair, which can be used even in very muddy conditions in the forest. A Close Look At The Creatures The four large classrooms each have a projector and visualiser for looking at live specimens as well as class sets of binocular microscopes and other magnifiers. The Centre has a variety of captive bred vertebrate and invertebrate animals all of which may be handled to enhance animal studies topics. Right: Henry Maynard Primary School Pupils at ‘Sunnytrap’ 2014 Camping The camping field is used throughout the summer and into September; by school groups during the week and youth groups at weekends. It has a purpose build log cabin style camping shelter (open on 2 sides) with a kitchen and a covered dining area with a camp fire pit near by. The cabin has gas cookers, a fridge, freezer and electric water heater. Above: The campsite Footfall During 2008/09 a total of 76 schools visited Suntrap with a total of 326 classes, which represents 432 days of teaching by Suntrap staff. Left: HenryMaynard School pupils in 2012 Some Satisfied Customers For over half a century children from Waltham Forest and surrounding areas have gone to Suntrap to learn about nature. This is what some of them say: http://survival-supplies.co.uk/about.shtml “As a nipper in London in the first half of the 60's I was lucky enough to go to a junior school that sent us on field trips to Epping Forest in Essex. Even luckier still, we made regular monthly visits to the Epping Forest Field Studies Centre at Roseville, High Beach, run by none other than Fred Speakman, one of Britain's best known bushcraft and naturalist authors at that time.

Load more